Purpose: Statistical learning (SL) approaches to reading maintain that proficient reading requires assimilation of the rich statistical regularities in the writing system. Reading skills in developing first- and second-language readers in English have been shown to be predicted by individual differences in sensitivity to regularities in mappings…

This study investigated the effects of the Arabic root in the visual word recognition process among young readers in order to explore its role in reading acquisition and its development within the structure of the Arabic mental lexicon. We examined cross-modal priming of words that were derived from the same root of the target…

Studies carried out to support the existence of a critical period for language acquisition have concentrated mainly on the case of being in total deprivation from language contact, and in particular deprivation from auditory input in the entire time span before puberty. While arguing for a useful distinction between early and late critical…

From the field of developmental psycholinguistics and from conceptual development theory there is evidence that excessive linguistic "code-switching" in early school education may pose some hazards for the learning of young multilingual children. In this article the author addresses the issue, invoking post-Piagetian and neo-Vygotskian…

A visual semantic categorization task in English was performed by native English speakers (Experiment 1) and late bilinguals whose first language was Japanese (Experiment 2) or Spanish (Experiment 3). In the critical conditions, the target word was a homophone of a correct category exemplar (e.g., A BODY OF WATER-SEE; cf. SEA) or a word that…

The authors identify 2 major types of statistical data from which semantic representations can be learned. These are denoted as "experiential data" and "distributional data". Experiential data are derived by way of experience with the physical world and comprise the sensory-motor data obtained through sense receptors. Distributional data, by…

In six analyses using the Child Language Data Exchange System known as CHILDES, we explored whether and how parents and their 1.5- to 5-year-old children talk about writing. Parent speech might include information about the similarity between print and speech and about the difference between writing and drawing. Parents could convey similarity…

Studied bilingual children and children learning a second language using a picture-word interference task. The printed distractors interfered with naming both on trials where the distractor and naming language were the same and on trials where they were different. These and other results question whether an "input switch" operates for bilingual…

This paper begins with a review of recent studies of the development of phonology, syntax, and semantics between the ages of five and twelve. Studies in pragmatics (or the functions of language) are also considered. The paper then turns from investigations of oral language acquisition to an examination of the interplay between oral and written…

Traditional research on the written language of hearing-impaired persons has tended to support a position of deviant language processing in such individuals. The major reason for such findings has been directly related to the lack of appropriate control groups. Recent studies which have emphasized the comparison of the language of hearing-impaired…

The compositions of 49 students (ages 10-14) with deafness or hearing impairments and 49 typical students were compared to investigate the frequency and proportional distribution of written-language variables. Differences were found between the strategies chosen by the students with deafness or hearing impairments in both syntax and semantics and…

A cross-sectional study with Dutch first language learners from Grades 2,4, and 6 was conducted to investigate their ability to derive word meaning from written context. Used a multicomponential measure that involved the percentage of correct attributes, inclusion of false attributes, and contextualization. (Author/VWL)

This workbook, intended to supplement courses in the development of the English language, is based on the belief that knowledge of a language's development is best obtained by working with samples of the language in its various historical stages and linguistic branches. Material covered includes (1) facts, assumptions, and misconceptions about…

The relationship between developing oral language skills and reading skills was examined in a study involving 65 fifth and sixth grade children. The subjects' reading ability was tested on the comprehension and accuracy scales of a standardized reading test. The oral language measure was a recall task for verbal material of varying linguistic…